Pineapples and Cupcakes

mediclopedia:

Parkinson’s Surgery (Pallidotomy or Deep Brain Stimulation)

Nerve cells use a brain chemical called dopamine to help control muscle movement. Parkinson’s disease occurs when the nerve cells in the brain that make dopamine are slowly destroyed. Without dopamine, the nerve cells in that part of the brain cannot properly send messages. This leads to the loss of muscle function. The damage gets worse with time. Exactly why these brain cells waste away is unknown.
There is no known cure for Parkinson’s and all treatment is to try to control the symptoms.One of the approaches is this deep stimulating neurosurgical approach:

A single dose of an appropriate prophylactic antibiotic (typically cefazolin) is given. The patient is placed in a comfortable position and the frame is fixed to the operating table with the head only slightly elevated above the chest to avoid air embolism. A small patch of hair is shaved over the appropriate frontal region and the area is then prepared and draped. After infiltration of the scalp with 1% lidocaine, a 2 - 3 cm parasagittal incision is made and a burr hole placed 2.5 cm from the midline at the level of the coronal suture. The dura is coagulated and opened and a small pial incision is made avoiding any cortical veins to allow for atraumatic introduction of the electrode. At this point the stereotactic arc is brought into the target position and the electrode guide tube is lowered into the burr hole directly over the pial incision. 

Something interesting you can check out related to Parkinsons… Parkinson’s and Nike, they raised over 900k with this.